UK PACT’s first project in Colombia will improve energy access
The project aims to unlock funds for providing sustainable energy access and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Colombia.
Approximately 3 million people in Colombia have no access to electricity and many live in remote locations unsuitable for connection to the national grid. To address this issue, the Colombian Fund for Non-Conventional Renewable Energies and Efficient Energy Management (FENOGE, under its Spanish acronym) was established with approximately £13m to finance energy access and energy efficiency projects across the country. However, the fund requires support and improved technical capacity to assess and select the necessary projects.
UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions) –a £60m International Climate Finance programme at the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy dedicated to providing capacity and capability building for countries eligible for Official Development Assistance– has partnered with the Carbon Trust in Colombia to unlock the FENOGE funds by providing the necessary tools and frameworks to the government’s planning agency for energy and mining, UPME. The project will apply cost-effective solutions to promote the efficient management of the available resources.
This collaboration is the first UK PACT project in Colombia. The assistance from the UK Government will directly help FENOGE spend its 2019 funding allocation by the December deadline.
The British Ambassador to Colombia, Dr. Peter Tibber, explained:
This first project of UK PACT in Colombia will support the improving provision of energy access whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions, by ensuring that critical projects to bring sustainable energy to Colombia’s remote regions can go ahead.
About BEIS’ International Climate Finance
BEIS’ International Climate Finance is a UK Government commitment to support developing countries to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change. As part of this commitment, BEIS is providing at least £5.8bn of ICF between 2016-2020, aiming for an even split between mitigation and adaptation. This places the UK amongst the world’s leading providers of climate finance.
The focus is on:
- building the resilience of the poorest people and communities
- ensuring that the vast expansion in infrastructure in developing countries is low-carbon
- halting deforestation
About BEIS’ UK PACT
BEIS’s UK PACT programme forms part of the UK’s £5.8bn commitment to international climate finance by 2021, as part of the global effort to tackle climate change.